Surviving as a Mage in a Magic Academy Chapter 872

Chapter 872

Having persuaded the mage, the Yaksha King continued his explanation of astronomy.

-It's not unreasonable to find contracting with stars more difficult than contracting with spirits or demons. While spirits and demons are favorable to contracts...-

'Were they?'

Yi-Han inwardly made a sour expression.

But generally speaking, it was true.

Spirits and demons were generally favorable to contracts. They were beings born to resonate with or deceive beings from other realms to gain power.

In comparison, stars were neutral.

To be more precise, stars were not beings with will like spirits or demons.

Like holy magic, they were closer to laws. That's what stars were.

-...Stars require mages to directly find their rules and prove their qualification. But Os's disciple. I guarantee that proving qualification for this realm is far more difficult than proving qualification for stars.-

"I see."

Yi-Han was about to explain again how he got here but held back, thinking the other wouldn't listen.

Anyway, the Yaksha King's explanation had some overlap with content he had heard a few times before, so it was easy to understand.

A structure where one receives power by exploring and recognizing stars, then proving qualification according to rules, rather than through conversation, persuasion, negotiation, or threats.

A certain family head and a certain principal who disliked holy magic were surprisingly favorable towards celestial magic.

In a way, it was natural, as it proceeded according to laws and rules rather than belief and emotion.

'Maybe they dislike holy magic because they can't use it themselves.'

Just as Yi-Han wanted to disparage spirit magic, these two great mages might be the same.

-Os's disciple. Do you perhaps know of any star contracts?-

"I've read about a mage who contracted with the Blood New Moon before."

Yi-Han explained about the contract case he knew.

It was a contract discovered by a wolf mixed-blood mage, where one had to go to the area with the strongest moonlight when the moon changed to a red new moon, float the moon on a pure silver cup, and then drink it.

It sounded easy at first glance, but when it came to magic, even the simplest process could turn into the most difficult one.

When floating the moon on a pure silver cup under a red new moon, that water became a deadly poison that even fairly strong mages would find hard to endure.

-Hmm. It's not a very high-difficulty contract. Even if you borrow such star power, it would be hard to get a high score.-

"Is that so?"

-Os's disciple. I have lived for an immeasurable time...-

"..."

The Yaksha King persuaded Yi-Han once again, exuding his authority.

Yi-Han grumbled inwardly.

'I get that you're great, but do you have to do this every time you speak?'

-You can have confidence. You should be able to contract with a much more powerful star.-

"Thank you. Actually, I'm a bit worried because I had such a hard time contracting with spirits."

-Spirits? That's unusual. Even with this much good karma accumulated, for spirits to refuse... Did you perhaps only meet strange spirits?-

'He might actually be a good person.'

  *

Although the content was quite extensive and difficult for an impromptu lecture, the Yaksha King was an excellent teacher and Yi-Han was an excellent disciple.

-Contracts with stars consist of numerous laws and rules, conditions and proofs. You can't memorize every case, but it's good to remember some general laws. First, the law of preemption.-

Yi-Han had heard of this before.

Surprisingly, among star contracts, there was a first-come-first-served basis, so if someone else discovered and contracted first, the next person couldn't contract even if they met the same conditions.

-There's also the law of luminosity.-

"The law that generally, the stronger the light emitted, the stronger the power of the contract. Is that right?"

-That's correct. The conditions become more difficult too... Of course, there are exceptions. We should talk about dark elements, but you probably don't deal with dark elements, right?-

"I know how to handle dark elements."

-Oh. Now you're starting to seem like Os's disciple. Yes. Then let's talk about dark elements too...-

'Oops.'

Yi-Han quickly regretted it when the explanation suddenly veered off and became longer.

After talking about celestial bodies related to dark elements for about an hour, the Yaksha King finally returned to the main point.

-...The method I'd most recommend to you is to use that <Star Guide> to find a new star, or find a star that's relatively neglected. They say mages with talent in celestial magic can intuitively feel stars that match them.-

"...Can't we contract with those stars floating up there?"

Knowing how difficult it was to find a new star, Yi-Han pointed at the stars revolving above the realm.

The Yaksha King spoke as if he had expected this.

-So you're finally revealing your greed? I knew it. But those stars are like tyrants, where even a single mistake can lead to the destruction of one's existence. That's why I didn't recommend them, but since you're Os's disciple, you're going to try to contract secretly even if you have to deceive my eyes, right?-

"I won't. Should I take out the <Star Guide>?"

-Hmm. Is this a denial to avoid my suspicion?-

"I've taken out the <Star Guide>. Please take a look here."

Yi-Han took out the huge brass telescope from his backpack and quickly set it up. The Yaksha King gave instructions on how to use the artifact one by one from the side.

Then the night sky of the original realm, not the current realm, came into the lens, and Yi-Han's consciousness was transferred elsewhere.

When he came to his senses, Yi-Han was floating in a dark space where stars flickered in the distance.

"!"

Even visiting this realm was close to a soul transfer, but to move the view like this again from there?

-How is this possible?-

-It's a very well-made artifact. It enhances performance by transferring the mage's consciousness to the view observed by the artifact. The mage who came up with this idea was creative, and the mage who realized it could be said to be meticulous.-

-It's certainly creative.-

-Hmm. I sense hatred towards the mage who realized this, given that you didn't say anything about the latter part.-

-...-

The Yaksha King was certainly a wise and sagacious king.

Apart from perceiving Yi-Han's hatred towards Professor Verduus, few people among mages could explain in detail an artifact made by others as if they had made it themselves.

Not only innate wisdom but also the power of knowledge built up over long years in this realm, listening to the stories of strangers.

The Yaksha King had that power.

-Please give me the next instruction.-

Of course, to Yi-Han, the Yaksha King was just a strange Yaksha who only said what he wanted to say.

He might have outstanding magical abilities, but wasn't that the same for Professor Verduus? Respect was originally separate from magical ability.

-Move straight ahead. Do you see the asteroid belt? It's better not to touch that area. Twelve hundred years ago, there was a mage who tried to contract with the asteroid belt. He was quite a good mage, but it was unfortunate.-

-...-

Yi-Han, feeling chilled, quickly turned his gaze away from the direction where the asteroids were gathered.

-How about that red tyrant star? It's a fairly famous star.-

When a star fairly famous among mages came into view, Yi-Han asked a question.

The Yaksha King's words just now had made him lose the desire to go further.

-If you're going to contract with such an easy star, why use an artifact like this instead of contracting with the moon?-

-...I thought it was quite difficult...-

-Move on quickly.-

Yi-Han grumbled inwardly as he extended further.

The more he advanced deeply after shooting his consciousness into the sky, the more bizarre and dangerous the celestial space became.

When close to the continent, they were purely beings that illuminated and decorated the sky. But as one moved away from the continent, they revealed their true colors, emitting bizarre magical power.

-Do you see that dark shadow far away?-

-Yes.-

-It's a dark nebula. Be careful, as it can devour a mage's soul just by looking at it.-

-...No... Shouldn't you have told me that first?-

-With your ability, your soul won't be absorbed by that level of dark nebula.-

'Should I just go back?'

Yi-Han was tempted to turn off the artifact and find the easiest contract with the moon.

What did it matter if it was a contract that slightly increased concentration when receiving moonlight? Even that seemed sufficiently impressive.

Not knowing Yi-Han's inner thoughts, the Yaksha King guided the star map.

The Yaksha King was indeed a skilled star guide. He warned of most dangers before Yi-Han even noticed them.

-Wait. Gaze at that star.-

-Is it a soul-absorbing star?-

-Os's disciple. You don't seem to have much talent for jokes. Quickly gaze at it.-

-Yes...-

Yi-Han gazed at the star as instructed.

From blue to green, from green to blue. It was a star that gave a somewhat refreshing and peaceful feeling.

-!-

Yi-Han was surprised at the sudden feeling of rejection he felt.

-I just felt something like rejection.-

-Hmm. Is that so? What you just saw is one of the spirit stars. Mages with talent for spirits often resonate with that star, so I tested it, but...-

-...-

Yi-Han felt the urge to swing the artifact directly at the Yaksha King.

-We should avoid spirit stars from now on.-

-I do have some friendly spirits though.-

-Are those spirits perhaps fearless or violent?-

-!-

-It seems I'm right. That can happen. Not all spirits are the same, after all.-

The Yaksha King was damnably wise. Yi-Han had to move again, swallowing his sense of defeat.

-Even if you don't get a feeling, make sure to record it. If all the stars reject you, you'll have to try various attempts according to the records.-

-I thought you said stars were neutral...-

-This kind of rejection is not the same as rejection from spirits. Os's disciple. Are you perhaps angry because of the spirit star's rejection? That's not rejection, just that the conditions didn't match. From now on, if you want, I'll express it as conditions not matching.-

-...Let's just call it rejection.-

Yi-Han suddenly missed Einroguard.

This realm where countless mages had perished was excessively harsh.

Finding stars and recording.

Finding stars and recording.

Being rejected by spirit stars and finding stars and recording again...

Just when he was getting tired to the point where he couldn't distinguish which star was which.

A huge wave of light filled Yi-Han's view. For a moment, Yi-Han thought the artifact had malfunctioned.

-...What is this?!-

-Arna! So it is!-

The Yaksha King's voice came through, sounding impressed.

Yi-Han, still not fully grasping the situation, asked in confusion.

-What do you mean?-

-It's the name of a guest star Os contracted with before. I thought there was a high probability it would choose the disciple as it chose the master.-

The guest star Arna emitted the most brilliantly burning light among all the stars seen so far, then faded again.

As Yi-Han's vision returned, he felt a strong attraction from the star, the exact opposite of the rejection he had felt from the spirit stars until now.

-It's a powerful star. It's tricky in many ways, but worth enduring. You can come back now. I'll explain how to contract.-

-...Wait a moment. If you were thinking of this star from the beginning, why did you make me check everywhere else in detail?-

-If I had introduced that star from the start, wouldn't it have deprived you of the chance to learn from other stars? Come out quickly.-

"..."

Yi-Han seriously suspected that the skull principal had hired the Yaksha King as a visiting professor and placed him here.

How could a being who was a king of an external realm be so much like an Einroguard professor??